A standard microfiche or microcard reader holds the fiches atop a transparent viewing plate which can be moved by the user to position the desired portion of the card in line with the optical system so it can be projected onto a viewing screen. In order to protect the cards from damage during handling, they are typically held in magazines or cassettes and the viewing apparatus is provided with mechanism that can select one of the cards, that is take it alone out of the cassette, and position it in the holder that the user maneuvers around to view the desired portion of the card.
These loading devices are normally relatively complicated and bulky. They therefore make the entire viewing apparatus fairly large, and also have the disadvantage that they frequently scratch the delicate card.